Identity Outtakes
by The Fink
Summary: A series of snippets relating to Identity that don't quite fit into that story but begged to be written
1. Inspired by Identity Chapter 6

When you write purely from one point of view, you're limiting yourself to writing about the thoughts, feelings and life of that one character. Unfortunately, just occasionally, another point of view cries out for a voice… Which is where these 'out takes' come in. The following snippets relate to chapter six of my story Identity, and/or _World's Apart_ and have been written first person POV for the character named beside the title. The characters aren't mine, the events they talk about aren't mine either – all belong to Saban et al. No money made – written because the ideas just wouldn't leave me alone.

~*~

The Bravest Thing – Mr Collins

I'm still not sure if it was the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do, or the stupidest.

He was already injured – I'd seen him go down, and go down hard, thanks to a blow to the head from the mutant. Yet when the mutant was lining up to kill the commander of the Silver Guardians, he found the will to save Porter's life…almost at the cost of his own.

In fact, for a few moments, I think everyone thought it **had** cost him his life. The laser fire hit him and he went down and he was not moving. I heard someone screaming – I think it was one of the other rangers – and I could see a couple of the Guardians creeping forward to cover the body. The other rangers distracted the mutant away from the body while one of the Guardians leaned forward to try and check on him.

I'm not sure at which point it was that I left the comparative safety of the limo, but I found myself on the fringe of the battle, anxiously watching as Guardian Myers reached out to look for a pulse. His hand stilled as we both heard an audible groan. Amazingly, he was still alive.

"Are…are you all right?" Myers asked.

Slowly – agonisingly – he moved to look at Myers, and that was when I realised that at some point, the visor of his helmet had shattered. I wasn't close enough to see much more than that, but Myers had a good view. I wasn't expecting Myers to recognise him. But he did.

I heard Myers gasp and then exclaim, "Wes?!"

And for a few long seconds I thought I'd imagined it. It couldn't be. It shouldn't be. My son?! That was Wesley? I found myself moving towards him almost in a daze. I couldn't believe it. When had this happened…how had this happened? Why hadn't I noticed?

We talked…argued and he walked away, to help his friends and I don't think I've ever felt so far apart from him. And nor do I think I've ever felt as proud.

~*~

Just Like Alex - Jen

When I first met Wes, I thought he was nothing like Alex.

Alex was a hero. He put himself last and everyone else first. He was kind and considerate. He was honourable and brave.

As far as I could see Wes was none of those things. If anything, as far as I could see he was the direct opposite of Alex. I didn't want him on the team. I knew, in my head, that we needed a fifth member, but I didn't want it to be him. Anyone but him. Of course, I didn't have a choice – and like it or not, I was stuck with Wes.

I know I wasn't fair to him in those first couple of weeks and instead of reacting like Alex would have done – instead of calling me on it – Wes accepted it. At first that just made me more scornful of him. Then there was the mess with Tentaclaw, Nadira and the ransom money and in four hours, and without saying anything to me, he demonstrated how unreasonable and how unfair I'd been.

I started to see him in a new light, particularly when I realised that he'd given up his home and family for us, but at the back of my mind I was still comparing him to Alex. And he was still coming up short.

None of what Wes had done was really significant. Sure it took guts but it still felt like Wes was playing. In fact he admitted that the idea behind the manoeuvre he pulled to free the kidnapped kids was based on a stunt he'd done for a bet when he'd been in school.

And then there was this afternoon…against Univolt.

Alex would have taken that shot because it was his duty to – because that was what he had been trained to do. Wes doesn't have that training. He's only a ranger because he wants to be. At the end of the day, he's still a civilian.

And he still took that shot.

He put himself last and put those Univolt would have fired on first.

It was like watching Alex all over again and for a moment the fear that Wes was going to end up like Alex was so strong I couldn't do anything. But then Univolt started towards Wes' unconscious body and I knew what I had to do. I couldn't let what Wes had just done be in vain. Just like I couldn't let Alex's sacrifice be in vain.

The four of us…Katie, Lucas, Trip and myself…managed to drag Univolt away but the four of us couldn't take him down on our own, and for a few seconds I thought that we would fail. Thought that we would fail Alex…and Wes.

Against all odds…all my fears – Wes came through for us. Just like Alex would have done.

But just when I thought he was OK, just when we finally beat Univolt, he collapsed.

Now here I am. It's nearly three a.m. and I can't go to sleep. I close my eyes and I see him lying there. So instead I find things to do and I keep an eye on him as he sleeps.

Because just like Alex, he's crept into my heart and I can't stand the thought of losing him like I lost Alex.


	2. Inspired by Identity Chapter 7

Character belongs to Saban/BVE/Whoever; events technically belong to Saban/BVE/Whoever, although any relationship between _The Quantum Quest_ and chapter seven of _Identity_ (on which this outtake is based) is purely coincidental!

My grateful thanks go to Ekat, not only for beta'ing this, but inspiring this with her equally wonderful (but a little closer to the episode!) outtake and for allowing me to write this version.

For Ecolea and Leathie

~*~

A New Man -- Eric

I was standing up against a guard-rail, backed there by two Cyclobots, holding something called a Quantum Controller and wondering just how it was I came to be staring down the wrong end of two Cyclosabres. There was a sudden yell:

"Hey bolt-brains!"

_I know that voice!_ I found myself thinking. And sure enough, as the Cyclobots turned to face the shouter, I spotted him. Wes Collins. Red Time Force Ranger.

Don't get me wrong -- I was pleased that he was there...who wouldn't be? His arrival meant I got to live a little longer. But just for once I wish it had been someone other than Wes.

And then I heard a voice. "It could be you." What could be me? "You could be a ranger."

As the two Cyclobots hit the floor the idea hit me with crystal clarity. If I could activate this box I'd be a ranger. I'd get respect...hell, even Wes would have to respect that.

Wes slowly turned to face me. "Eric..." he began.

"You're going to say 'give me the box'," I cut in. "Ain't gonna happen, Wes."

He begged me again but my mind was made up. As he stepped towards me, I put my hand in the slot of the Quantum Controller. There was a huge flash of light -- it blinded me...it probably blinded Wes too (not that I care). In the moment or two it took for my sight to clear, I heard the voice again. "Say the words 'Quantum Power' and the power is yours."

When I could see again, the Quantum Controller had vanished and in its place, strapped to my wrist, was a strange looking device. The word morpher drifted through my mind, although where the word had come from I didn't like to guess.

"Nonono...Eric please. Don't..." Wes began as he turned back to me.

"Jealous?" I replied.

" What?! Eric this isn't about us...what you think I think about you...or what you think about me. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Please don't do this." He sounded pitiful, especially as I noticed his legs were starting to give out under him.

I just smiled a little and shook my head. "Who's going to stop me? You? You can't hardly stand, let alone stop me."

"I can stop you," he insisted.

"Not this time, **pal**," I retorted. What had that voice told me to do? _Quantum Power_ The phrase drifted into my mind again, and I knew what I had to do. I lifted my wrist and called, "Quantum Power."

I can only describe what happened next as a rush. Energy poured through me like a torrent, filling empty places inside me that I didn't know were barren, changing me from what I had been into what I should be. The full force of it drove me to my knees, but when it was over, and I could see again, nothing hurt. Nothing ached -- not even the assorted bruises that the Cyclobots had given me earlier. I was energized and ready for anything, while floating at the back of my mind was all kinds of information about the powers and what they could do.

"Eric...is that you?" I heard Wes ask.

Oh yes, it was me all right -- more me than I've ever been...but I wasn't going to tell Wes that. And then the morpher reminded me that I had a job to do. I left Wes stunned on the concrete and vaulted down to deal with Brickneck, to start getting that respect I deserve.


	3. Inspired by Identity Chapter 15

The characters and events they talk about aren't mine, they belong to BVE. The following three snippets all relate, heavily, to chapter 15 of Identity and to the episodes _Dawn of Destiny, Fight Against Fate_ and _Destiny Defeated._ They're all first person POV for the character named beside the snippet title.

~*~

No Friends -- Lucas

I can't believe this guy.

Maybe I didn't know Alex as well as everyone else, but I'm sure he was never this anally retentive.

He can't have been -- Jen would never have fallen for him if he had been. 

Which means there's something seriously screwed up going on here.

Something majorly doesn't add up, but I can't work out what -- if anything that's more frustrating than Alex's attitude and his treatment of Jen.

And in the mean time, we have to deal with the rigid jerk he's being. Trouble is, he's not used to being a part of a ranger team. Not the way Wes is. Alex may have more experience of being a ranger -- may know more of what it's about -- but he just isn't a team player.

And I don't think we can beat Dragontron with him in the team.

~*~

Where I'm Welcome -- Eric

I suppose I should be used to this. I suppose I should have realised that the minute Mr Collins went into surgery, I was going to be pushed aside in favour of someone the bootlickers figured they could control.

I was just surprised who they finally picked.

Then again, the look on Wes' face when he walked into that board meeting said a lot.

Thinking about it, I think I actually feel sorry for him. After all, for all their differences, Mr Collins is his father. Typical of lawyers and pen pushers to tap the one guy too confused to fight back.

But where does this leave me?

I'm sure it won't take long for the bootlickers to talk Wes into getting rid of me. Given some of the things I've said and done in the last few months, I guess that wouldn't have taken much work anyway.

So why should I stick around here for that?

I know where I'm not welcome.

But do I have to leave Silverhills? Could I just quit the Silver Guardians? Go work for Nick of Time Odd Jobs?

Nah. Even assuming Jen agreed, Lucas and Katie wouldn't be happy. I know they don't exactly like me. And then there's whoever the guy is that's taken over from Wes. I've not met him, but from the comm. chatter during the battle this afternoon he sounds like a real arrogant ass.

No. I can't stay here.

I know where I'm welcome -- and that's not Silverhills anymore.

~*~

Now I Understand -- Mr Collins

Was this how it was for you, Wesley? An irresistible urge to act, even though you know that more than likely acting is going to get you killed?

When I saw you take that laser bolt to save Porter I couldn't understand why you would do something like that...why any human being would put themselves in danger to save someone else. And then I discovered that my serum...the serum that you supplied Biolab with to cure those who'd been bitten by that mutant...was something that Ransik needed.

I'm not a brave man...heaven knows; I'm not a strong man either -- not physically. But I couldn't let Ransik leave with the serum.

"Get out of my way," he hissed.

I should have been scared spitless. But all I could think of was what he was trying to do to you. And I was as angry as any human being can get. "You're trying to destroy my son. And if I'd known that serum could help **you**, I'd have poured it down the drain myself."

"Well isn't that touching," Ransik replied, sneering. "Get out of my way."

"Make me."

There was an instant where I thought: This is it -- I'm going to die. But I didn't regret defying him. I regretted that you didn't know...wouldn't know my real feelings -- that I was proud of you -- but I didn't regret my defiance.

And then Ransik blasted me.

There wasn't time to scream. The energy blast hit me and that was that...until I woke up in a hospital bed gasping for air that just wouldn't come. That was when I panicked...not that it got me anywhere, of course. Everything started to fade away and I could feel myself drifting...

Then something grabbed me. I can't describe it any better than that. The drifting stopped. The pain stopped. For a second, I thought that meant I was dead...then I realised that if I were dead I wouldn't be thinking about it. I could breath again. And when I opened my eyes I saw you.

At least, that was what I thought at the time. Looking at you now in this brief moment when you don't know I'm here, I'm not so sure. But if it wasn't you... Stranger things have happened, I suppose -- most recently discovering that we're not so far apart as I'd thought.

I do understand now, Wesley. Will you give me the chance to tell you?


	4. Inspired by Identity Chapter 15

Disclaimer: You know the drill; she isn't mine, events aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them from BVE. No harm, no foul, no money made.

This is an Identity outtake and while it doesn't necessarily tie directly into what we saw on screen, it fits into the Destiny arc. Muchos gracias to Gamine who took a look over this for me.

Please offer feedback -- it tells me how I'm doing.

~*~

Who Am I? -- Nadira

Who am I?

I thought I knew.

But then again, I thought that humans and mutants were different...and now I find they're not. 

I thought I couldn't feel pity for a human...and now I find I can.

My daddy tried to kill the Red Ranger's father today. Yesterday I would have said that I wouldn't have cared. But today I can see the effect that it's had on the Red Ranger...Wes...the same effect as it would have had on me if someone had done that to my daddy.

And now I'm confused.

If mutants and humans aren't different...if we're really the same underneath...does that mean that neither one is superior to the other?

Does that mean my daddy is wrong?

And...if he is wrong...where does that leave me?

What should I do?

If daddy is wrong...

I love him. He is my daddy...he is all I have. But...if he's wrong...and he is hurting innocent people...people who aren't any different from me, then he could one day hurt me.

And that means I have to do something to some how stop him.

Even if that means turning him in to Time Force or helping the Rangers capture him.

And if I do that, who does that make me?

Who would I be then?


	5. Inspired by Identity Chapter 17

The characters and events they talk about aren't mine, they belong to BVE. The following snippets all relate, heavily, to the episode _Undercover Rangers_ and to chapter 17 of Identity. 

~*~

Who Does She Think She's Fooling? -- Lucas

Jen's been distracted all day, which is unusual for her, but the minute I walked into the odd jobs shop and saw Wes sitting behind the counter, the light bulb went on.

She's nervous.

Who does she think she's fooling?

We know she's in love with him. I think he knows she's in love with him (unless he's as oblivious as a plank of wood -- and somehow I just can't imagine he is). I suppose the real question is does **she** know she is?

I'd say Alex's little visit here hasn't helped on that count -- but maybe it has. He spent two days pushing her away after spending three months being 'dead'...I don't know what he wanted, but if he wanted to alienate her, I'd say he'd succeeded, and maybe -- just maybe -- that's the wake up call Jen needed.

Now, if only she can figure out what to say...

~*~ 

Will She Say It? -- Katie

You know that feeling you get...the mix of anticipation and nerves that comes right before you do something or hear something or see something really momentous? Well I think we...Lucas, Trip and me...have been leaving on that feeling for the last month.

Every since Contemptra put the guys under that love spell.

That's when it got to be blindingly obvious, at any rate. I think I first noticed it way back when the Silver Guardians first showed up and we first met Eric, but it was easy to ignore it then. Her reactions could be credited to worry over a teammate...or guilt at letting a 'civilian' get badly hurt... But as time's gone on, I've run out of excuses for her to use. And since Contemptra...well. There **is** only one answer: Jen is head over heals, madly and truly in love with Wes.

I finally got her to 'fess up about it a couple of days before Alex came back in time.

"Katie, I shouldn't love him," she told me.

"Why not?" I replied.

"What if...what if I'm just transferring my feelings for Alex?"

"Let me tell you something," I answered. "I've known you a long time, and I don't think I ever saw you like **this** over Alex."

"But I loved Alex..." And then she had trailed off as she realised what she'd just admitted. Her feelings for Alex were gone. Not forgotten, not lost just...gone.

And you know, I really thought she'd take the plunge that night and admit her feelings to Wes -- but what with Steelix and everything, I guess she got side tracked.

Then Alex showed up and threw a wrench in the works. I could have **killed** him. But when he was saying goodbye to us on the beach there was...something about the way Jen said goodbye and told him it was OK.

For a week, I've been on the edge of my seat waiting for her to say it. But now -- crouched on the clock tower steps, I really think she's going to do it. Looking at Lucas and Trip, so do they.

She has to. She's got to.

"What I was trying to say..." she begins.

And then that **DAMN** door chime sounds. Some people's timing stinks so bad. Well, I've had enough of waiting for Jen to come to her senses. Lucas, Trip and I rush down the stairs and into the odd jobs shop to find the little guy from the gym demonstration yesterday.

"Hi," he says.

"Can we help you?" I ask, trying to be polite and wanting to wring the guy's scrawny neck.

"Uh yes. I'm looking to hire a personal trainer -- you know to lift some weights and stuff?"

Lucas glances at me. "We have just the people right here," he says.

Good boy, Lucas. "Absolutely," I agree.

"Not me!" Jen replies as she suddenly realises everyone else is looking at her.

"Me either!" Wes adds, putting his hands up to protest. "I've had enough weight lifting for one day."

Lucas gets round behind them both and starts pushing them forward. "But you guys love working out."

"No."

"I hate working out!"

"No... Lucas..."

It takes some doing, but between the three of us, we manage to get them both out of the door, along with the guy -- who looks a bit confused by the whole thing.

"You think they knew we were listening in?" Trip asks.

I shake my head. "I doubt it."

And we slowly trail back up to the attic knowing she's still not said it.


End file.
